A Free Golf Lesson For The Driver

This is Lesson Two of Full Swing Lessons for the Driver. This is the Club Parallel Swing Lesson. This lesson is designed to help you make effective use of lesson one. It is a way to practice hitting shots from the position you learned in lesson one. It will help you practice your timing so that you can make great contact hitting your shots.

Golf is a game of timing. Practicing that timing is very important. The tour pros talk about practicing their rhythm and timing more than anything. Use this drill to help build the foundation of your golf swing as well as the timing to hit solid golf shots.

The Driver Lesson Step #1: Address Position

• Follow your setup routine and take your address position.
• Please see the Full Swing Setup Lesson for the Driver for more details on a strong setup position.

The Driver Lesson Step #2 : Club Parallel Backswing

• Your backswing should start from the top down. This means that your shoulders, arms, chest and hands should start the swing, and your lower body will follow. You can see how much my shoulders and chest have turned in comparison to my hips.
• Start your backswing. Use your upper body to move your arms and shoulders triangle that you made in your setup position. If you only move your hands then you will break your triangle and get you out of position.
• Your lower body should be relaxed but not moving. If you keep your hips relaxed then the turning of your chest and shoulders will automatically turn your hips. The more flexible you are the less your hips will turn during your backswing. This will help create a lot of power. Don't try and restrict your hip movement, because without the right flexibility it will cause your club to get off line.
• Both your feet should still be flat on the ground.

The Driver Lesson Step #3 : Press Down to Start

• Your whole body and club should move together to start the downswing. You don't want to leave anything behind when making your move to hit your golf ball. This will help keep your swing in rhythm.
• From your parallel backswing position start your downswing by pressing your left foot into the ground. The downswing should start from the ground up, and this feeling will get the lower part of your body involved right away. Your hips and legs should be a major part of your downswing and follow through.
• Once you have pressed your left foot into the ground, it is now a matter of letting your hips, chest, shoulders and club all unwind together.

The Driver Lesson Step #4 : Impact...The Moment of Truth

• Impact is the split second during your golf swing in which the club actually makes contact with the ball. All the movement your body does during your backswing and downswing, are simply trying to set you up for a good impact position. If you can deliver your club onto the back of your ball properly...you are going to hit great shots.
• There is a big difference between good contact and proper contact. Good contact will get you around the golf course...proper contact will help you shoot your dream scores. Let's try and work on making proper contact.
• To make proper contact you will want to make sure that the back of your left hand is flat and facing your target. This is critical for making proper contact. It is the only way for your club to hit your ball at the proper angle so that you can use the natural loft of your club. A common fault is having the left wrist break towards the target. This increases the loft of your club and makes you hit the ball higher and shorter than it should. A great drill is to put a ruler on the back of your left wrist and make parallel to parallel swings. The ruler will help keep your wrist in place.
• After pressing your left foot into the ground on your downswing your weight should naturally move onto your left foot. This is because at impact your right knee should be flexing and moving towards your ball. This will make your right foot roll onto it's instep. These two things will help drive your weight forward and through your shot.

The Driver Lesson Step #5 : A Different Angle

This picture is taken from the target side. The key thing to note looking at the impact position from this angle is how open your hips will be to your target. Notice how your hips will almost be facing your target already, even though you are only just at impact. This position helps generate a lot of power as well as proper contact.

The Driver Lesson Step #6 : Parallel Follow Through

• This position should virtually mirror your backswing.Your club should be parallel to the ground with the toe of your club pointing up to the sky.
• This time your right wrist should be flat, as if you were shaking hands with someone. If your hand is in the position to receive a 'low five' from someone then you are out of position, and you will have unnaturally increased the loft of your club.Almost all your weight should be on your left foot. So much so that you should feel the pressure of your weight on the target side edges of your left shoe.
• Your triangle is still intact. If it is then you have used your body properly to make your golf swing. If not, then you have overused your hands and arms which will lead to inconsistent contact.

The Driver Lesson Step #7 : A Different Angle

• Your hips should almost be fully facing your target.
• Your triangle is still intact. This will help you create full extension through your shot, which is the only way to hit shots with power and accuracy.
• Since your hips are turning through your shot you should feel your left leg straighten as you get your club parallel to the ground. It will continue to straighten through the remainder of your follow through.
• Your head and neck should be relaxed and moving with your shot. The more relaxed you are with your muscles the more they will be allowed to move freely and naturally. This means that it is okay for your head to rotate with your body during your follow through. You don't want it to stay glued in place as that will restrict your follow through.

Thank you for taking Lesson Two of the Full Swing Lessons for the Driver. This is a great way to practice your golf swing. If you can hit the ball solidly with such a short swing it will show that you have great rhythm and timing. Please be sure to practice this stage of the swing often so that you are ready to build up your swing with Full Swing Lesson #3: The Set Swing .

Good luck with your practicing and playing. May you 'Play Your Golf Dreams' sooner with the help of free-golf-lessons.com.

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